This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible

Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.

The contamination at Eagles Ridge traces entirely to industrial smelting operations that ran for nearly a century — all of it predating 1986 by decades. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to smelter operators and affiliated parties during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable today. The remediation costs this property now faces — soil mixing, excavation, and long-term institutional controls — represent expenditures that may be recoverable from, or fundable by, historical carriers whose policies were in force during Asarco's decades of atmospheric emissions.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.